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Seattle City Light

Seattle City Light's Green Power Program funds local renewable energy demonstration projects. These projects create awareness of renewable energy within our community, and help grow the local market for solar and other green technologies. A portion of funds support education and training programs for teachers, students, and the general public. Since 2002, the program has completed 24 solar projects at schools, parks, libraries, and other public places.

Sponsored Projects:

The oldest continuously operating high school program in Seattle, Washington, Ballard High School installed a 0.64-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system onto the school in October 2003 through the support of its partner Seattle City Light.

The school extended its commitment to renewable energy in July 2008 when they became a recipient of a Renewable Classroom PLUS project from Solar 4R Schools™. In addition to building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, the Renewable Classroom PLUS project award has transformed the school's PV system into an interactive classroom... Read full project narrative >>

Located on North Capitol Hill, Bertschi School had a 4-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system installed on-site in 2006. The visibility of the solar panels serves as a public symbol of the school's commitment to educating students about responsible global citizenship and environmental sustainability.

In November 2008, Solar 4R Schools provided the school with a Renewable Classroom PLUS project to help extend their commitment to renewable energy education. The Solar 4R Schools team repaired the school's existing energy monitoring equipment and weather station at Bertschi School. In turn,... Read full project narrative >>

Carkeek Park is Seattle, Washington's premier spot to observe spawning salmon. Every fall from mid-October to mid-December, hundreds of Coho and Chum return to creeks that weave through this urban oasis. Another notable attraction is Seattle City Light's solar project, funded by their customers' generous contributions to the Seattle Green Power program. The 4-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system generates roughly half the electricity needed for Carkeek's Environmental Learning Center (ELC), as well as lighting on the grounds, and other needs. Energy monitoring provided by the Solar 4R Schools... Read full project narrative >>

Catherine Blaine K-8 School in Seattle, Washington joined the Solar 4R Schools™ program as a Renewable Classroom project in January 2009. Educators at Catherine Blaine K-8 School received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula and complete access to the classroom resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Educators continue to integrate these hands-on resources in their classrooms to teach the science and benefits of renewable energy. Read full project narrative >>

Cleveland High School in Seattle, WA joined the Solar 4R Schools™ program in February 2009 as a Renewable Classroom project. Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated "Teacher Champion."

In 2009, educators within Cleveland High School received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Read full project narrative >>

Concord Elementary School in Seattle, WA joined the Solar 4R Schools™ program in January 2009 as a Renewable Classroom project. Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated "Teacher Champion." Educators within Concord Elementary received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Read full project narrative >>

The Dimmitt Middle Schools 2.58 kW "Viking One" solar installation was energized April 2010 and is located on the south roof of the Cafeteria near the west entrance creating a visible example that the Renton School District is committed to exploring renewable energy resources at multiple grade levels. The power generated from the array is feed back into the electrical grid through a production meter that measures the net metering of the energy. This project was primarily funded through a grant from Seattle City Light. Read full project narrative >>

Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, energy monitoring awarded by Solar 4R Schools™ to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2009 made the real-time performance data from their 2.3-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system available to the community.

Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, Garfield High School in Seattle, Washington became the recipient of a Renewable Classroom project in March 2009. Educators within Garfield High School received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Read full project narrative >>

Greenwood Elementary School became the first Seattle Green Power Project in 2002 when they received a 1-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system. The system was not operating from Fall 2006 until July 2008 because of some repairs that were needed. Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, Greenwood became the recipient of a Renewable Classroom PLUS project in 2009. Solar 4R Schools™ repaired the inverter and installed a energy monitoring system on-site to track live performance data. In addition to building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, the Renewable Classroom... Read full project narrative >>

Hamilton International School in Seattle, Washington has a unique history with the Solar 4R Schools program. While initially the recipient of a Renewable Classroom project, thanks to the support of the Walmart Foundation and The Foundation for Environmental Education, the school upgraded their commitment to renewable energy education in 2012 as a Renewable School.

As a Renewable School, Hamilton is building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, generating clean energy through their 5-kilowatt on-site photovoltaic (PV) system (installed in 2012) and leveraging the... Read full project narrative >>

Seattle City Light has teamed up with affordable housing provider Capitol Hill Housing (CHH), for its fourth Community Solar project. Capitol Hill Housing helps people of limited means to have a home by providing secure, affordable apartments to more than 1,700 of our neighbors across the city. The system is on the roof of a 30-unit apartment building located in the heart of Capitol Hill. Although owned and... Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, in 2009 educators within Holy Rosary school received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the... Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated "Teacher Champion." Thanks to generous support from Seattle City Light in 2009, educators within Ingraham High School received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the... Read full project narrative >>

In 2012, Seattle City Light completed its first Community Solar project at Jefferson Park in the Beacon Hill neighborhood. Participating customers helped build three new picnic shelters with roofs made of solar electric panels. The site now generates approximately 26,000 kWh of clean, renewable electricity each year, while supplying park visitors with much needed shelters. Energy monitoring of their PV system and system performance display at Solar4RSchools.org gives educators the opportunity to utilize this information for educational purposes.

Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, Kimball Elementary School joined the Solar 4R Schools program as a Renewable Classroom project in 2009. Educators within the school received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Read full project narrative >>

The 3-kilowatt photovoltaic system installation at the Klondike National Historical Park was completed in May 2010. The power generated helps offset the building energy consumption. The project was made possible by funding from the Seattle City Light Green Power Program.

Energy monitoring provided to the Park has connected live performance data from their existing PV system to the Energy Exploration Center at Solar4RSchools.org. Students and educators nationwide can chart, graph and analyze the system's performance data for educational purposes. A touchscreen kiosk located inside... Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated "Teacher Champion."

Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, Laurelhurst Elementary School in Seattle, Washington joined the Solar 4R Schools program in February 2009. Educators within Laurelhurst Elementary received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org... Read full project narrative >>

Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at Seattle Center incorporates a number of design features and operational systems to minimize energy and water use, landfill waste and the building's carbon footprint.

McCaw Hall was the site of Seattle Green Power's largest solar project at the time -- a 6.3 kW architectural receives a very high level of exposure -- not just from the sun -- but to more than 10 million people who visit the Center each year. Read full project narrative >>

Sparked by a solar-power enthusiast and former schoolteacher, the 2.4-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system installed on Meridian Park Elementary School was the City of Shoreline, Washington's first public solar project. The system, installed on the school's music building, was made possible by the Seattle City Light Green Power program. Thanks to the continued support of Seattle City Light, Meridian Park became the recipient of a Solar 4R SchoolsTM Renewable School project in 2008.

The Montlake Community Center in Seattle, Washington installed their 4.16-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system in 2009. The system is comprised of twenty Sharp ND-208 modules. Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, energy monitoring provided by the Solar 4R Schools program made the live performance data from their PV system available for educational purposes at the time of the project. Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated "Teacher Champion." Thanks to the generous support from Seattle City Light in 2009, educators within Nathan Eckstein Middle School received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated "Teacher Champion." Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington was awarded a Renewable Classroom project in 2009. Educators within Nathan Hale High School received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to... Read full project narrative >>

The original photovoltaic (PV) system housed on Nihonmachi Terrace Apartments was installed when the complex was originally built. In 2008, the original system stopped producing electricity because it was not attached to an active utility account. Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, the Solar 4R Schools team got the system back up and running in 2009. In addition, energy monitoring provided to Nihonmachi Terrace has connected the real-time performance data from their 2-kilowatt system to the Energy Exploration Center at Solar4RSchools.org. Students and educators... Read full project narrative >>

In addition to building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, the Renewable Classroom PLUS project award from Solar 4R Schools has transformed the school's existing 2-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system into a hands-on classroom tool. The project award was made possible by the generous support of Seattle City Light.

The Solar 4R Schools team repaired the school's existing PV system. In addition, energy monitoring provided to the Parkwood School connected the live performance data from their PV system to the Energy Exploration Center at Solar4RSchools.org. Students and... Read full project narrative >>

Pathfinder K-8 School was the first site designated by the Seattle School District for installation of solar equipment and the site of a major Seattle Green Power kickoff event in January 2002. Construction began in June 2002 and the project actually began producing power in January 2003. As part of a city-wide update and repair, Seattle City Light supported the repairs on the photovoltaic system at Pathfinder K-8 School. In 2008, educators within the school received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula,... Read full project narrative >>

Seattle City Light customers liked the Community Solar project at the Seattle Aquarium so much that all of the units sold out in 6 weeks. To learm more about Seattle City Light's Community Solar projects, click here. This project was made possible by an alliance between Seattle City Light, the Woodland Park Zoo and the Phinney Neighborhood Association. You can go directly to the online enrollment form or visit the... Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” In 2009, educators within Pinehurst K-8 School in Seattle, Washington received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Read full project narrative >>

In 2012, Portland Public Schools passed a bond initiative which supported the Roosevelt Modernization project. As part of the initiative, Roosevelt High School installed a 134.79 kW solar array (see live performance data). By leveraging the BEF, CE Bright Futures education resources and data monitoring, teachers from Roosevelt High School have the ability to incorporate generation data from... Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” In 2009, educators within Salmon Bay Alternative School received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit... Read full project narrative >>

Community Solar at the Seattle Aquarium opened for enrollment in September of 2013 and sold out the 1850 available units in 6 short weeks. This 44.4 kW system is ideal for its historic waterfront location that hosts more than 800,000 visitors a year (including 40,000 school children), a large south-facing unshaded roof, and its significant contribution to the Aquarium's conservation and sustainability mission. To learn more... Read full project narrative >>

Installed in September 2004, this 1500-watt photovoltaic array is the result of a unique partnership of governmental agencies and educational institutions. Seattle City Light joined with the U.S. Department of Energy, General Services Administration, and the Washington State University Energy Program in a collaborative effort to bring the first showcase solar project to the downtown Seattle core at that time. As the first project on a high-rise building in our region, this project demonstrates the adaptability of new solar technology in a large Northwest commercial setting.

Seattle University's photovoltaic (PV) system installation in 2005 was a joint effort between seniors in the School of Science and Engineering and the facilities department. The students determined the best location for the solar panels, sized the system, designed the mounting system and electrical connections, and provided engineering support to facilities staff who installed the system.

The installation consists of a roof-mounted, south wall- and pole-mounted arrays. The solar modules mounted on the Student Center's roof are visible to students living in a residence hall and an... Read full project narrative >>

Energy monitoring services provided to Shoreline City Hall by Solar 4R Schools with support from Seattle City Light connected live performance data from their existing 20-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system to the Energy Exploration Center at Solar4RSchools.org. Students and educators nationwide can now chart, graph and analyze the system's performance data for educational purposes. A touchscreen kiosk placed within the facility allows employees and visitors to interact with the system's live performance data while learning about the science and benefits of renewable energy. Read full project narrative >>

Spruce Street School was founded in 1982, and is located in downtown Seattle, Washington. The school offers highly personalized instruction, focused on students' social-emotional development and academic excellence.

In May 2006 Seattle City Light supported the installation of eight solar panels on a part of the rooftop of Spruce Street School, near the school's rooftop playground. In addition to building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, the Renewable Classroom PLUS project from Solar 4R Schools has transformed the school's existing PV system into a hands-on... Read full project narrative >>

As a Renewable School, St. Joseph in Seattle, Washington is building a dedicated community of renewable energy educators, generating clean energy through their awarded 5.27-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system as an educational tool to bring energy topics to life in their classrooms.

In 2009, educators within the school received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. To optimize integration of renewable energy science and... Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” In 2009, educators within Summit K-12 in Seattle, Washington received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. The project was made possible... Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, in 2009 educators within Thornton Creek School in Seattle, Washington received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” Thanks to the generous support of Seattle City Light, in 2009 educators within TOPS K-8 in Seattle, Washington received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources... Read full project narrative >>

In 2002, three University of Washington (UW) students evaluated the feasibility of using solar to generate electricity on the UW campus. They surveyed campus facilities for potential solar sites and explored opportunities for funding. While the student team concluded the cost of PV was still not competitive with conventional energy sources, they recommended the formation of a student organization and small-scale demonstrations to educate the campus community, encourage further research, and advocate for a more energy independent and green-powered university.

The University of Washington (UW) Center for Urban Horticulture is the first academic center in the U.S. devoted to growing plants in cities. Its building complex lies between the Laurelhurst neighborhood and the Union Bay Natural Area, and its academic and outreach programs attract more than 65,000 people a year. The Center's rebuilt Merrill Hall opened in January of 2005 as the first green building on the UW Seattle campus. Housed in Merrill are the Elisabeth C. Miller Library, the Hyde Herbarium, academic offices and labs, and the WSU Cooperative Extension and Master Gardener offices.... Read full project narrative >>

Washington Middle School's photovoltaic (PV) system was originally installed in July 2004. Located on a hill above Seattle's old historic downtown, Washington Middle School is exposed directly to seasonal winds coming off Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. Seattle City Light worked closely with the Seattle School District and the Seattle Planning Department to overcome these challenges. This collaboration produced an elegant, yet sturdy 1.2-kilowatt PV installation that demonstrates the practicality of photovoltaics under less-than-perfect conditions.

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” In 2009, educators within West Woodland Elementary in Seattle, Washington received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. This project was made possible by the generous support of Seattle City Light. Read full project narrative >>

Renewable Classroom projects are designed to build a dedicated community of renewable energy educators within a single school or district, led by a designated “Teacher Champion.” In 2009, educators within Whitman Middle School in Seattle, Washington received a customized renewable energy teacher training, hands-on science kit materials to augment the school's existing curricula, and complete access to the resources available on the Solar4RSchools.org website. This project was made possible by the generous support of Seattle City Light. Read full project narrative >>

Woodland Park Zoo's "Family Farm" is no longer just a place for kids to pet goats, sheep and miniature horses. The zoo now teaches families about the wonders of solar energy, a project spearheaded by Seattle Green Power. Contributions to Green Power enabled City Light to fund the installation of a 1.2 kW solar system that helps power the Family Farm's Discovery Barn. It houses work space for Zoo Corps, a program that helps prepare teens for careers in zoology and other environmental sciences; kids classes like "The Spin on Spiders;" a crafts and play area for toddlers; an interactive video... Read full project narrative >>

Thanks to generous support from Seattle City Light's green power program, the project installed at the Woodland Park Zoo Carousel was made possible through voluntary contributions from customers in support of renewable energy education.

Seattle City Light customers liked the Community Solar project at the Seattle Aquarium so much that all of the units sold out in 6 weeks. To learm more about Seattle City Light's Community Solar projects, click here.

This project was made possible by an alliance between Seattle City Light, the Woodland Park Zoo and the Phinney Neighborhood Association. You can go directly to the online enrollment form or visit the... Read full project narrative >>